Lost Chapters
Mount Vernon: Quartz Location
Mount Vernon is George Washington's Virginia estate on the Potomac River. The land came to the Washington family in a 1674 grant, Washington owned it from 1761 until his death in 1799, and the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association saved it and opened it to the public in 1860.
- Cost
- 3 crystals
- Type
- Location · City
- Color
- Quartz (Founders & Revolution)
- Rarity
- Common
- Set
- Liberty & Lightning (Set 1)
Your Leader gets +2 power.
Presidential estate that proved even revolutionary generals eventually prefer gardening to governing.
The real history
Mount Vernon sits on a peninsula of the Potomac River in Virginia. In 1674 George Washington's great-grandfather, John Washington, and Nicholas Spencer received a 5,000-acre land grant there. George's father, Augustine Washington, built the home that became the heart of the mansion in 1734. In 1743 George's older half-brother Lawrence inherited it and renamed it Mount Vernon to honor British Admiral Edward Vernon, under whom he had served.
George Washington began leasing the estate in 1754 from Lawrence's widow, and he became its owner in 1761. During his 38 years as owner he greatly expanded both the mansion and the land. By 1799 the estate covered 8,000 acres divided into five farms, with a gristmill and a distillery. Washington was away for eight years during the Revolution, and his eight years as president kept him away for most of that time too. He died at Mount Vernon on December 14, 1799.
Mount Vernon was a plantation run by enslaved labor. At least 577 enslaved people lived and worked there during Washington's lifetime, and 317 were enslaved on the estate in 1799.
Later owners struggled to keep it up, and the estate shrank to about 1,200 acres. In 1853 a woman named Ann Pamela Cunningham, moved by her mother's description of the run-down house, organized the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association. In 1858 the owner agreed to sell the mansion and about 200 acres to the Association, which took possession in 1860 and opened the estate to the public that year.
Sources
- Owners of Mount Vernon, George Washington's Mount Vernon
- Slavery at Washington's Plantation, George Washington's Mount Vernon
How the card plays
Mount Vernon costs 3 crystals and is a Quartz Location. Its text reads: your Leader gets +2 power. For only 3 crystals, that is a big jump in how hard your Leader hits.
Play it on turn 3 or 4 to turn your Leader into an early attacker. Gear that makes the Leader hit harder works especially well with it. Flintlock, Flintlock, gives +3/+0 when equipped. Speak Softly, Carry Big Stick, Speak Softly, Carry Big Stick, gives +3/+3 and Guard, so the Leader can attack and still defend. Mightier than the Sword, Mightier than the Sword, is a cheap +2/+1 that helps the Leader strike first.
- Playable in decks led by George Washington, and by any Traveler Leader whose colors include Quartz.
- In the Washington starter deck (1 copy). Deck code:
LC2-BhoCgAKBAYIBgwGEAYUBhgKHAYgBiQGKAYsBjAKNAY4BjwGQAZEBkgGTAZQBlQGWAZcBmAGZAZoCmwGcAZ0BngGfAaABoQFBjA - A deck holds up to 3 copies of this card.
Questions about Mount Vernon
Who saved Mount Vernon?
The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, founded by Ann Pamela Cunningham. It bought the mansion and about 200 acres from the Washington family, took possession in 1860 and opened it to the public.
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